Two New Shooting Venues, Passion, Hard work and Creating a Thriving Archery Club

Shipley Bowmen started in 2012 with approximately a dozen archery enthusiasts, one of which lived in the village of Shipley and had a contact who would permit shooting at the Knepp
estate, and the club was born. Despite very limited resources the club grew, because
it adopted a policy of “give archery a try” and
steadily attracted new members.

After
being made homeless from our Winter shooting venue in 2018 because the local leisure centre was redeveloped, it was fortunate that we were able to move, after much hard
work by some, to an alternative sports centre for winter shooting.

In
2019 the Knepp estate was also unable to accommodate us during the summer
months because of their innovative “re-wilding programme”. The estate offered other sites but sadly
none were suitable
and one member negotiated an alternative venue at a local school. We have
formed the perfect partnership there, as we share our passion for archery with
the students, by running a “have a go” afternoon, on an annual basis, promoting
both the sport and our passion for archery within the local community.